Alcohol in the ER

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Alcohol may be taking a much bigger bite out of the hospital emergency room budget than health care providers have believed.

A nine-year study indicates there are three-times as many visits made to emergency rooms for the treatment of alcohol-related diseases or injuries than previous research suggested. The discrepancy lies in the fact that busy ER doctors often do not identify certain problems as drinking related, and people who come in intoxicated do not volunteer the information either.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital came up with the higher figures by going back and reviewing data from a national medical survey. They looked at 37 diagnoses in emergency rooms that suggested an alcohol-related problem. Overall, intoxicated individuals accounted for about 7.6 million ER visits a year, or nearly 8 percent of the total number of ER visits over the whole study period.

According to the study, people most likely to go to the ER with an alcohol-related disease or injury are age 30 to 49, male and black. The authors suggest emergency rooms establish systems whereby these individuals can be referred to alcohol abuse programs for help.

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SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004;164:531-537